New York state residents aged 30 and older will be eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccination beginning March 30 at 8 AM ET. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced the news via Twitter March 29.
In addition, Cuomo stated that teenagers ages 16 and up will be eligible to receive the vaccine April 6 at 8 AM.
The news arrives on the heels of NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio’s March 25 announcement that the Broadway Theatre District would, within a month, be home to a new vaccination center, specifically for (and in part staffed by) theatre workers. A separate mobile unit will service Off-Broadway venues, and the city will implement pop-up testing sites aimed at facilitating the theatregoing process.
While de Blasio’s announcement did not expand vaccine eligibility to theatre workers (that would be a state-level call) but rather vaccine availability, Governor Cuomo’s declaration indicates that most if not all theatre workers would be eligible by the time these centers open.
While a full-scale Broadway reopening is at least six months away (industry insiders and Mayor de Blasio alike have cited a fall target), select performance venues across the state will begin to welcome back audiences—with a bevy of health and safety protocols—as soon as this week, including flexible venues for socially distanced indoor offerings and Broadway houses for one-off events.
